Page 343 of The Black Trilogy

The Asian woman Nate and I had seen on our first trip to the compound stood by a hideous painting of a donkey. When she saw the gun, she threw her hands up and sank to the floor, pleading with me in high-pitched Spanish not to shoot.

The sound of gunfire outside interrupted her, closely followed by Nick shouting in my ear to hurry up.

What was I supposed to do? Leave her there? She didn’t seem to be a threat, and she was pregnant. I took hold of her arm and started pulling her towards the door. In turn, she grabbed my wrist, dug her heels in, and tried to tug me back in the opposite direction, deeper into the house.

For goodness’ sake.

The sound of shooting outside intensified, as did Nick’s yelling, and I was tempted to let her burn.

“Look, lady, if you want to get out of this hole, we’re leaving now or our ride goes without us,” I snapped at her in Spanish.

“Please,” she begged. “You have to come with me.”

“I don’t think you understand. If we don’t leave now, we’re stuck here. And in case you haven’t noticed, the building’s on fire and there are men out there who want to kill us.”

She burst into tears and jabbered in Spanish. I was considering whether to abandon her or knock her out and drag her along when my ears pricked up at the word, “Carlos.”

“Carlos? Did you say Carlos?” Was she about to make me a happy woman?

Her head bobbed up and down. “Yes, Carlos. You come.”

“Carlos is here?”

She nodded again.

I had a decision to make, and two seconds to make it in. The fact I was completely, undeniably, freaking nuts probably made that decision easier.

When she tugged again, I let her pull me along behind her. The radio crackled, and I spoke into the mike.

“Nick, get out of here.”

“What?”

“I’m staying. Get out of here.”

“Don’t be stupid. Foot soldiers are shooting at us and we have to go. Get in your seat!”

“I can’t. You still have to pick up Pink, and if you don’t do that now, I’ll shoot you myself. Drop everyone off then come back for me. I’ll meet you at last week’s rendezvous point.”

“You’ve lost your mind!”

“What’s new?” I yelled back.

The rotor blades whined as the Huey took off, then the gunfire started up again. I needed to deal with that first.

“Hold on—I have to take care of a little problem outside,” I told the woman. “Just stay here, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, I ran to the door. A man crouched behind a wall, shooting at the helicopter with an AR-15. He clearly had no idea I was there because he’d left his back wide open. Two quick shots to the head took care of that issue.

Another started shooting, and I fired a quick burst back but missed as he ducked behind a vehicle. Over by the hillside, the helicopter descended for Carmen, and I needed to hold him off long enough for her to climb on board. I was almost grateful when he popped his head up and aimed at me instead. Someone threw a ladder out, and Carmen scrambled up it. Seconds later, the Huey sped away.

Good. Now I could concentrate all my efforts on getting rid of the trigger-happy thug. Actually, make that thugs. A second gorilla popped out of a building across from the house, and I dived sideways. My radio went crunch. Oh, shiitake mushrooms. Was I ever going to be able to go on a mission without destroying every means I had of communicating with the outside world? It appeared not, on current form.

It took me ten minutes and two magazines to eliminate the pair, by which point the helicopter was long gone. Even if I had been able to call it back, it wouldn’t have had enough fuel anyway.

Well, happy days. I might as well have another look for Carlos—I had time to kill, after all. I ran back to the villa. The woman hovered in the doorway, unsure what to do with herself as smoke billowed out around her. A splintering crash from inside made me hesitate—nothing about this was a good idea. Then I thought of Black, and I thought of Carlos, and I stepped into the gloom.

The woman took point and I followed her through the house, both of us doubled over in a crouch as the smoke drifted above us. I almost bumped into her as she stopped in an alcove. Her fingers trembled as she felt along a wooden panel, but she must have found a hidden latch because the wall swung open to reveal a set of concrete steps going downwards. A cellar. I guess I wasn’t the only one to have secrets in my house.

---